Eight
by i'llbeyourcoat
Summary: one of the wierdest AU, boarderline crack fics out there - don't say i didn't prepare you for the strangness. Eight People - The Chosen - must find each other to complete a prophocey and not die in the process. T for languege and eventual violence.
1. The Prophecy

Hello there! Thanks for clicking on this story... I don't own the charecters, I'm not that cool, and I would probably do unspeakable terrible things to them if I did have them. Larson Bless.

Note: This is the revised copy of The Prophecy because I realized that I gave them too many powers and that it wasn't working.

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_Found in Mark's attic when he was 14_

The Prophecy

When these people meet something will happen

Something that is essential for the continuation of humanity

But all must be present for it to take place

And all will be needed

The Healer

The Teacher

The Dreamer

The Speaker

The Listener

The Seer

The Eradicator

And The Witness

Two will have to learn their identity.

All that need happen for The Event to take place is for all to be present at the same time.

The Chosen cannot age past two decades and three turns of the seasons until The Event has taken place.

The Chosen cannot die – though any other physical or mental harm may befall upon them – except by the poison of The Voglia Ed Uccida.

The Chosen have abilities to help and protect them on their journey to each other and to make physical harm less possible .

The Healer can soothe the mind, body and soul. They may erase physical wounds. They may keep others from death. However they do not have any defenses other than what they may have been born with of their own accord. They have the power to keep all from harm except themselves.

The Teacher can learn extremely fast. They can teach what they've learned simply by looking you in the .Their defense is strength.

The Dreamer can see what will come to pass through dreams, though this method is unreliable because decisions can be made to alter the visions. Their defense is speed, fast enough for no one to be able to see them.

The Speaker can convince anyone of anything. They can word something so that it seems what they are saying is irresistible. They speak in a language all can understand no matter their ethnicity or age. Though they are often quiet, they are heard clearly. This imposing of will is also their defense.

The Listener can hear things others cannot. They can understand what the trees are trying to tell us. Their defense is shape shifting, they may shift into the form of either a cat or a tree.

The Seer can see things others cannot. They can see trails of color like animal tracks on the ground. Their defense is congelo, the ability to freeze others with their eyes.

The Eradicator can only use their ability once, and once they do they will die. They may kill any number of specific beings at will. They are invincible save for causing their own demise – very strong, very fast.

The Witness' part is simple. They must see The Event. They must also _(Here much of the script was damaged by what looked like water stains). _Their defense is silence. When they are completely silent no one can touch them.

Their defenses are against the Voglia Ed Uccida, who will do all in their power to prevent The Event from taking place.

_Here the document was cut off, and so Mark did not know why the Voglia Ed Uccida might want to prevent The Event from taking place. He didn't even know what The Event was. All he knew was that this document was not just some random scribbling for so many things made sense know. Those awkward moments were explained. He was The Witness._

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And there you have it! The set up for a story...reveiw if you will...yes, I'm aware that this is rather bizzarr.


	2. The Dreamer

Because you asked for it, here is the next pressuambly lovley chapter! i just realized that, despite the fact that this story is called 'eight' it will have mroe than eight chapters. i'm just waring you that these last two chapters took me like two weeks to write, which i know is silly becasue not much has actualy happened. also i would like to thank all the people who reveiwed!! 10 people so far!! that is more revewis than i've ever gotten before!! I own nothing...except the plot...

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Maureen sighed as the silence pressed in on her ears. Her legs fell off the end of the duct-taped couch. This was so lame. She didn't move from Hicksville to New York City to be stuck in a silent apartment all the time. Why the hell wasn't anybody talking to anybody else? Though that wasn't strictly true, Collins, Roger and Benny seemed to get along fine, always whispering together. She knew she shouldn't take it personally, but Maureen felt left out. She'd thought Collins at least would be just the kind of fellow anarchist type she could hang out with. And Mark, what the hell was wrong with Mark? He was so jumpy like he expected someone to leap out at him. Unless…nah…those few times it had happened…it may as well have been a dream. Maureen knew she could move fast, but those times had been crazy, she didn't even know why it had happened.

Unless it had something to do with the crazy dreams she had. This one had been about a rabbit; the rabbit had a lazy swirling pattern of color on it. It sniffed the air experimentally, before going about its business, unaware of the…thing. Maureen couldn't exactly explain what the thing was; it was kind of like a shadow, but solid. It seemed to creep forward until a dark blue owl swept down out of nowhere and scooped the rabbit up, carrying it away. The shadow things growled.

"Mark?" She called. He froze, his bag half on, poised to go out the door. His eyes widened and his mouth opened a little, what was he so afraid of?

"Mark, could I talk to you?" She could see him swallow, but he nodded and sat down on the couch next to her. He sat on the very edge, jiggling his leg very fast.

"What's up Maureen?" He asked. She sighed and sat up.

"You've all been acting so weird around me, did I do something?" He looked slightly baffled.

"No," Mark said after a moment.

"Then why are you guys so…cold?" Now it was his turn to sigh.

"Look, Maureen, it's complicated."

"So? Explain it to me anyways,"

"It's not that simple,"

"What do you mean?"

"I can't explain it to you."

"Why? You think I'm so stupid that I wouldn't be able to understand you?" She didn't' mean to get so worked up, but she couldn't help it. Why did he have to use such a condescending tone with her? Like he was better than her, like he knew something she didn't?

"No, it's just –"

"Just what?"

"It's for your own good!"

"How can leaving me all alone be for my own good!" He sounded like her father. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. HE closed his eyes, when he opened them he seemed to see her for the first time – the first time she didn't look like a threat. He placed a hand on her arm.

"Look," He began, but she pushed him off. What the hell was his problem? He looked stunned. She stood up, **running across the room in a fraction of a second.**

"If you're going to leave me alone, then just leave me alone!" she shouted. Her breathing was hard, and she was beginning to regret shouting. He stared.

"How did you do that?" He asked slowly. Maureen shrugged, wrapping her arms around herself defensively.

"I've always been able to do that," Her voice was far away, dreamy. "When I'm angry, or scared, or sad."

"Please come sit down," Mark said. She did, walking over at a normal speed. Maureen sat, and he turned sideways to look her in the eyes.

"Maureen," He said seriously. "Have you ever had dreams that seem…strange?"

"Hasn't' everybody?" She shrugged, but she knew what he meant. As she explained her dream he stared at her in wild-eyed fascination. He mumbled something incomprehensible after she was finished.

"What was that?" He looked at her cautiously again. Then took a deep breath and explained the whole 'prophecy' thing. If she'd been somebody else Maureen probably would have laughed, but as it was she felt sick to her stomach.

"So you think I'm The Dreamer?" Maureen asked.

" The description fits perfectly. If only we knew who The Teacher was maybe your dream would make more sense," Mark finished.

"Maybe it's Collins? He's a teacher." Maureen suggested. Mark shook his head.

"It usually isn't that simple," Mark tried to explain. "And we can't just ask anybody. If one of the Voglia Ed Uccida find us they will kill us."

"Oh," Maureen said quietly. The idea that someone would actually want to kill her was terrifying. "What if we tested him?"

"How?"

"Well, The Teacher is supposed to be strong, right? So what if we made it look like we needed someone to be really strong? Lift something or whatever?"

"That is crazy," Mark shook his head. "But it just might work."

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well the ending was cliche' but i think it came out ok. can you tell i got a little lazy towards the end? PLEASE REVEIW even if it's as simple as 'what the hell was that?' or 'i really liked it'. THANK YOU GUYS AGAIN, i am working on the next chapter!


	3. The Teacher

OMG! thank you all so much for the reveiws, i hope i don't kill this chapter! the hole creator owns all except the plot!

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For not having any idea if something super natural would happen any moment, Collins thought he did pretty well. He went to work, he made a couple friends, he went to sleep, and he did what normal people did. He'd always known he was different. Aside from discovering that he was gay, he'd always been unusually strong. He hadn't been told why this was until he was fifteen and learned about the whole 'prophecy' thing. At first he hadn't wanted to believe it, then he got paranoid. He broke off a lot of friendships because he was afraid that his friends might be part of the Voglia Ed Uccida. He almost flunked high school, both intentionally and unintentionally. He couldn't sleep, he was afraid something might get him. He reasoned that if the Voglia Ed Uccida hadn't found him here then they wouldn't find him if he stayed here. Of course this was screwed logic, it would be better to move, to try and find the other Chosen. So he had pulled his act together and gone to Harvard, become a professor, gotten a job at NYU and moved in with these guys. IT became apparent that two of the guys he was living with were also Chosen. Roger and Benny, they were the Seer and the Eradicator. He wasn't sure about the girl and the other guy, the other guy looked suspicious but the girl seemed…well like a girl. He wouldn't get her involved if only because it was dangerous. At least, that was the plan; stick with the others, find the others, avoid civilians. But this plan went down the drain one morning while he was walking to work.

He wasn't quite awake, this was one of the aspects he hated about is job, though he had only himself to blame. Why on earth had he chosen to teach morning classes? Who in their right mind scheduled a class for the un-godly hour of eight AM? But hey, who was he to get himself fired…again. Money was money – even if he couldn't die yet he could still be fucking hungry if there wasn't enough money to pay for food. Ahh, partial immortality, this was something he was enjoying a little because while he was technically twenty-six he looked twenty-three.

He blinked a couple times, trying to adjust to the sunlight as he left the shadow of a building. Far away a car honked, a few blocks away a taxi screeched to halt its tires were sure to leave a mark. Somehow Collins had never minded the noise of the city, it was underlying now and he probably wouldn't be able to function without it, but the sudden horn honking near by made him turn.

There in the middle of the street stood none other than Maureen Johnson herself. She stood tall, her head thrown back, the sun shining down on her face as calm as anything as the cars streamed around her. What the hell was that girl doing? She looked so odd, with her hair and the taxi's all swirling around her like a whirlpool. He hesitated a moment, then headed out into the traffic to get her out of there.

And not a second to soon, for as soon as he had both feet of the cement one of those crazy taxi drivers with some place to go and people to get there came zipping around the corner. He could see it's yellow exterior reflected in her eyes, yet she did not move. Well he did, just as fast as he could. He felt the asphalt move under his feet, but he didn't' remember running, just grabbing Maureen around the waist and moving so his back was angled towards the taxi. In the few seconds before the impact Collins wished that Maureen had never left the loft that morning.

Now, though he'd kept her from being squashed, the people in the taxi might be hurt. And how could he explain why they hadn't been crushed too? He could picture that, "well, you see I am The Teacher and I cannot die," he was sure _that _would go over well. But it was then that the sickening crunch of the taxi slamming into his back hit his ears. Collins felt his stomach drop. Shit. He looked down at Maureen, who has staring at him…grinning. Why was she grinning? She should be scared, shocked, worried, or something! Then, faster than he would have thought possible, she pulled him to his feet and around the corner. She didn't even let him catch his breath as they sped along Fifth Avenue. Buildings and people were nothing but blurs. The wind stung his face, making his eyes water. He was getting dizzy from their speed so he shut his eyes. Now, not being able to see anything and not being able to feel the pavement beneath his feet, it was as if they were flying or perhaps as if they weren't moving at all.

They finally stopped in Central Park on a huge slab of gray stone. There were many just like it emerging from the ground, the grass clung to it near the base like it was reluctant to let go. Maureen let Collins hand go and he fell to his knees breathless.

"What was that!?" Maureen did that smile where she bit the corner of one lip – a guilty smile.

"Sorry," She said. She didn't' sound sorry. "I just wanted to know who you were."

She couldn't mean that? Of course she could. She must be The Dreamer, duh, but of course he couldn't ask her that so instead he told her that he was The Teacher.

"I knew it!" Maureen shouted gleefully. "And Mark said it wouldn't be you!"

"Mark's one of The Chosen?" Maureen nodded.

"He's The Witness." Collins shook his head, he should've figured with the scrawny guy carrying that camera everywhere.

"Mo, this is a lot to think about," He closed his eyes and placed his fingers on top of his closed lids. "And I'm going to be late for work."

"I could run you there," She offered.

"That's ok." He said a little too quickly, still nauseous from the run here. Besides, the walk would give him time to think about this. He absolutely would not panic in front of Maureen, even if she were just some crazy girl…who also happened to be crucial to his future. Damn. And here he'd thought he'd been doing pretty well for someone who didn't know if something super natural was to happen at any second.

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i do not like how this chapter ended, but i didn't no where i would end it if i didn't end it here. sorry if that looked like collins/mo i didn't mean it to be more than friendship but i guess it could be taken the wrong way. if you have any suggestions as to what will come next i would be gratfull because i only have one other specific idea and it will proabably come up in a couple chapters. Your reveiws are amazing! they are fantastic! they are the things that give these people thier super powers!


	4. A Warning

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE REVEIWS!! you guys are amazing, and i'm glad that you all don't seem bored with this. i loved hearing some guesses as to who is who and if any one wants to guess who Mimi, Joanne, and Angel are i'd love to hear what you think.

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In the days that followed the ice that seemed to have encased the loft previously was broken. Mark took to filming everybody, not just the hobos. Collins and Maureen started playing pranks on one another. Benny got engaged to his girlfriend Alison. Roger was glad it was less awkward, but felt dream like, spacey. He'd gone in less than a month from being by himself, to being with Collins and Benny, to only having three more Chosen left to find. He expected to wake up any moment to find that he was by himself again. He was so spacey at times that Mark accused him of drugs. Of course he wasn't, but he could see why some one would think that. It was one such evening when the next seven months would change.

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"Roger?" Roger jerked forward in his seat.

"What?"

"That was the fourth time I called your name, are you alright?" Roger shook his head to clear it.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Mark eyed him suspiciously as he'd been doing more and more often these days. Roger groaned. "Why do you always think it's me who's high? Why not Maureen? She's hyper enough sometimes!"

"Because Maureen is just weird." Said Benny from where he was in the doorway. He'd decided to move in with Alison and was packing his stuff into garbage bags since they didn't have any cardboard boxes.

"Whatever," Roger sighed and pushed him out of the armchair that seemed intent upon dragging him into it's squishy depths. "I'm going for a walk, anyone want to come?"

"I will," Benny said.

Out on the street Roger stared at the ground, admiring the usual array of colorful lines criss-crossing each other every which way. Benny's was a nice deep red color trailing lazily behind him, while Roger's own was a bright green. He could see Mark's familiar blue pooling around where he must have stopped to film something.

"What are you staring at?" Benny asked. Roger gave him a look. Do I really have to answer that? "Oh, right, the colors."

They walked along again in silence.

"So…" Benny tried again. Roger knew from experience that nothing bothered him more than silence. He seemed to think that silence meant something was wrong. Roger was starting to wish he hadn't brought Benny along. "What's it like seeing the colors?"

"What's it like knowing that you are going to die someday?" Roger shot back. He knew it was a low comment; Benny could help it if he was The Eradicator. The Eradicator was the only one who could die, even The Healer who was exposed to all harm couldn't die. Benny looked at the ground.

"It's interesting…but distracting, hard to get to sleep at night if someone else is in the room with you. Can you imagine if I was in the same room as Maureen when she's hyper? All the red and yellow I can hardly see a thing" Roger relented. That got a laugh out of Benny.

"So what do you see now?"

"A whole lot of lines… Your aura…and…Benny what is that?"

"What? Where? I don't see anything." Roger pointed. He knew Benny probably couldn't see the liquid-like silvery trail, but surely he could see that…thing. It was like a shadow but solid. He could see it's outline blurring and shifting from man to wolf to snake to tiger to man again, but none of the details were clear. It was like a silhouette stepping off the wall, beckoning them. Roger could here Benny's intake of breath as he spotted it and felt his own pulse quicken.

"What should we do?" The question was barley audible as it escaped Benny's mouth.

"Run."

They glanced at the other once out of the corner of their eye then turned out the spot. What Roger wouldn't give to be as fast as Maureen at that moment? Of course Benny, being The Eradicator was soon ahead of him. Roger's breath came in quick short gasps, his feet pounded on the pavement but he knew it wasn't going to be enough because of the soft hiss of something behind him.

"Benny wait!" He cried. But Benny was ahead of him by a good two blocks now. Roger didn't stop, his heart felt like it might burst from his chest. After another block he was starting to get a cramp in his side. Shit. But he kept going even though by now he could hear the steady hiss and feel the thing's hot breath in his ear. Roger let out a strangled gasp and tripped. The thing was no clearer now, looming above him, than it was from far away. Features he thought he might recognize slid in and out of focus. A hoof, a wing, a human arm, the face of his dead dog, Mark's face, all swam in the creatures body, shifting and writhing till Roger thought he might be sick. It hissed and gurgled for a moment, like it was trying to find words, then swooped down on him. Roger screamed, but his eyes never left it. Apparently this was the right thing to do, for it froze in the air mid-shift. Roger gasped and coughed on the ground for a moment, his heart rate never slowing. Then he rose from the sidewalk and ran the rest of the way home.

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"It was one of the Voglia Ed Uccida." Collins announced later. They were all in the living room with cups of coffee and hot cocoa discussing what had happened.

"No shit!" Roger exclaimed.

"But why did it attack tonight?" Maureen asked from under a large quilt.

"It probably suspects how many of each other we've found." Mark said.

"So we should split up?" Benny asked.

"NO!" Maureen cried. "What if it's easier for them to get us if there are less of us? What if we couldn't find each other again? What if it killed somebody and the others didn't know about it?"

"These are all possible," Collins said. "But I don't think we have much of an option right now. Benny's moving out anyway…and I've been accepted to teach at MIT."

"Collins!" Maureen wailed. "You can't leave!"

"Think about it," Mark said. "They would probably assume that if we had found each other we wouldn't split up. Maybe it will make them think they've go the wrong people."

"But…" Maureen looked like she might cry.

"Hey, don't worry Mo." Collins assured her. "I'll call lots and I'll be back for Christmas! I can't speak for Benny…but I promise."

"Okay," She said quietly. Throughout all this Roger hadn't said much, he was still shaken by that thing. It suddenly reminded him of one of the few things he'd learned in high school – Italian to be exact. He'd wanted to know how to say something cool, not "can I go to the bathroom?" or "hello, my name is Roger, how are you?". He'd looked it up. "Voglia Ed Uccida", It wants and It kills.

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now, i'm a little unsure about this chapter which was originally intended to be scary but i read it to my brother and he didn't think it was. so now i'm aiming for tense. PLEASE REVEIW, i know i've been asking this for _every chapter_, but you guys make me so happy!


	5. The Speaker

Thank you all so much for your reveiws, it really does help me write fast!! YOU GUYS ARE FUCKING AMAZING!! ok, this chapter is more a filler to intoduce Joanne and so that i'm not going from May to December in two chapters.

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Joanne felt good walking out of the courthouse. She knew what she was doing was cheating, but she believed she was doing the. She'd won this case, she could win others as long as she didn't' run into any trouble. But trouble hadn't run into her, so she might as well put in the back of her mind for all the good it did her worrying. She would go back to her apartment, have some coffee, maybe read a book. A nice quiet evening at home sounded great, she was exhausted. She'd won easily enough but it was a strain to be so convincing for so long. Her back hurt from sitting in those crappy chairs all day. You'd think the state would be able to afford new ones, but apparently not.

Joanne shivered. It was getting cold for October, she'd need a new coat probably, and definitely new shoes. She could feel the cold stone steps through this pair. The Doc Martins she now wore made a shuffling sound as she descended. The wind blew against her face.

"HEY!" Joanne turned to see someone- one of the jury – running towards her down the steps. The girl's dark brown hair flew out behind her as she moved down the steps faster than Joanne would have though possible. Suddenly the girl tripped.

"SHIT!" She cried, rolling head over heels down to a couple steps below Joanne. Joanne stared for a moment before running down to help her up.

"Oh god, are you okay?" The girl hissed in pain as she stood.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She said tightly.

"Hey…um…I loved how you handled yourself back there in court." She told Joanne, who eyed her suspiciously. The words sounded rehearsed.

"What do you want?" Joanne asked after scanning the girl's face for a moment.

"I need to ask you something." Joanne nodded for her to keep going. The girl hesitated, then bent in close.

"Are you…um…fuck, are you The Speaker?" Joanne froze. How was she supposed to answer that? She pulled away from the girl staring at her. This could either be really good or really bad. This girl with her large brown eyes could be one of The Chosen. Or she could want to kill her. Of course Joanne hoped that she was A Chosen, she felt terribly guilty for not having found anybody yet – Using her abilities to help legally rather than find people. But she was still helping people, right? The girl seemed to sense her distrust.

"Who are you?" Joanne asked in horror and excitement.

"My name is Maureen Johnson." She said, never breaking eye contact. "And I am The Dreamer."

Joanne stared in shock, so much for a quiet evening at home. She collected her thoughts for a moment, then nodded.

"Yes,"

"Yes what?" Maureen asked.

"I am The Speaker." Joanne said slowly.

"Alright!" Maureen shouted. She leaped up and punched the air; her earlier tumble forgotten then added more softly - "Only two more left to find!"

" Only two more left?!" Joanne asked in disbelief. She grinned and sank down to sit on the steps, this day was just getting better and better. Maureen, who was smiling too, looked down at her.

"You're pretty when you smile."

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And i needed to introduce MoJo. Just incase anyone missed it, i am using cannon pairings. OH, i forgot to add! though they are immortal usually, one of the Voglia Ed Uccida _can_ kill them. PLEASE PLEASE REVEIW FOR MY FILLER!! i know it's not as exciting as the others, but i promise that the next chapter is a lot more exciting!!


	6. The Healer

You know the violence i mentioned earlier? Well this would be it...though probably not all of it. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR REVEIWS! seriously, you guys are spoiling me. something i also forgot to mention is that people who are not part of The Chosen cannot see the Voglia Ed Uccida. And it is december when this chapter takes place. PLEASE DON"T HATE ME FOR THIS CHAPTER!

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Angel felt her heart sink as she saw the group of men leave the alleyway, laughing and giving each other high fives. She knew that this wasn't uncommon, but it still made her sad when they beat people up. She watched them disappear around the corner before picking up her pickle tub and rushing over to the vacated alley.

Angel peered into the dark space between the buildings. It wasn't like she hadn't done this before, but the sight of these broken people still made her nauseous. How could anyone so this to another person? This particular person was a girl couldn't be more than fifteen at most. She was unconscious, her short hair matted with blood, but the gentle if not irregular movement of her chest indicated that she was still alive. Angel dropped her pickle tub near the mouth of the alley and ran forward, crouching beside the girl. She moved her hands in a circular motion above the girl's head waiting for the familiar golden glow to form around her hands.

"Come on," Angel whispered impatiently. The soft light obliged. It was warm, and familiar, and tingled as it always did down Angel's spine. Angel then places gentle fingers at the girl's temples and closed her eyes. It was easier to see what she was doing that way. She started from the deepest, healing the bruising in the girls' brain, then sealing up the crack in her skull, and finally the cut in her scalp. The thugs must have used a baseball bat to get that kind of damage. Angel moved on, healing broken fingers and ribs, reducing the swelling, and repairing tissue so that there wouldn't be any bruises to show for it. Finally Angel sat back on her heals, letting the glow around her hands fade. She wiped away sweat she didn't notice had formed on her forehead. The girl blinked – once, twice – opened her eyes, and sat up.

"What?" she looked around, confused She spotted Angel. "What happened?"

"Nothing," Angel assured her. "This is all a bad dream, go home and go to bed, okay?"

"Okay," The girl said dazedly. It was then that Angel saw it, perched on the fence that dived the alleyway in half. Damn, not again, she thought. It wasn't the first time she'd had a run in with the Voglia Ed Uccida but they always seemed to show up at the worst possible moments, and they still scared her shitless. Normal people were so lucky they couldn't see them. Angel leaned close to the girl's ear.

"Now I want you to run as fast as you can away from here," she whispered. There was no sense in anybody getting hurt if she could help it. The girl seemed to believe her, and got to her feet, running away. Angel watched her go. Good, it would be such a pity if all her hard work had been ruined because Angel hadn't thought to send her away.

But now it was just her and that…thing. There was a low growl from behind her that raised the hairs on the back of her neck. She didn't want to look at it, but if she didn't it could pounce on her. Though it could probably do that anyway, but if she could see it move then she had a chance to get out of the way in time. Slowly Angel turned. This is what it seemed to be waiting for. She would have called the creature's color black but there were dark misty swirls of color moving on its body: dark purple, gray, and dark green, all almost black. At the moment it seemed almost cat-like but it could just as easily have been a bird or a human. Eyes began to appear in its dark murky body. It was awful, there were so many eyes appearing all over it, a cat's eye on its chest, an alligators eye on its leg, a human eye in the middle of it's forehead. And they were all staring at her. Angel thought she might be sick. She should run now while she could but she couldn't stop staring. The eyes – they eyes kept on opening, eye after eye after eye, all staring at her, no two the same, not one where it was supposed to be. Eye after eye after eye.

It was then that it started to shift; its very outline blurred and bulged into a nonsense creature with the huge hind legs of a carnivore. In an instant it propelled itself off the fence. Angel realized this a moment to late, pulling away, turning her back to the thing. She cried out once, feeling it's claws rake across her back, then bit her lip. She wouldn't get anyone else involved by calling attention to herself. She turned back around to face it, her back against the wall. It had shifted again. Now it was a huge shadow-like snake, coiling and uncoiling, writhing, it's dark tongue flicked out of its mouth once though it didn't need to taste anything. At least its eyes were in the right place now, and there were only two of them - black, and didn't reflect any light. Angel took a step to the right, towards the exit to the alley. Its head snapped to follow her. Her breath, which was already coming fast, seemed to catch in her throat for a moment. She took another step. It lashed out once, sinking its fangs into her leg. She bit down on her lip so hard it began to bleed. She sat down hard, so she wouldn't put any pressure on her leg. Her stomach churned as she realized the red marks on the wall were not graffiti. Crap. It extended its long now scaly looking body nearer to her face. It looked almost as if were about to kiss her, but then it opened its mouth showing its long black – now red – fangs. Footsteps echoed down the alley, they were not hers; they were someone else's. Crap crap crap. She knew she shouldn't have screamed.

"Stop!" She called out to them, never taking her eyes off the creature, and hoping they'd just go away. But they didn't, if anything they got faster. The thing, which had been lowering its fangs closer to her neck, hissed angrily. Who was foolish enough to interrupt what the creature had been created to do? The man who now stood in front of Angel was tall and could clearly see it. But he couldn't really…right? Wrong. He sneered at it in disgust, but chanced a quick worried glance at Angel as if to say 'stay there'. Like hell she would! Didn't this guy realize what he was getting himself into? The snake-thing swiveled its head to look between the man and Angel, as if trying to decide if she would be strong enough to help him if she so chose. Apparently it decided that she was immobile for now and could be dealt with when it was finished.

It opened its mouth wider – if that was possible – and slithered forward. The man, being much taller at this point, though considering the size of the snake, he'd be about the same height as it if it stood on its tail, he jumped and came down on top of it. It hissed and started shifting, this time into a great black eagle. Its wingspan must have been ten feet across, and it now had the same height as him. It reached out and lodged its sharp beak into his arm. The man swore, and kicked one of its legs. It gave an ear-splitting shriek and shifted again, back into the cat-thing it'd first appeared as. The man held one arm, glaring at it. They circled each other for a moment before it lunged, using its claws to pin down one of his arms and sink its teeth into the opposite shoulder that it had first wounded. He gave a strangled cry, and fell over with the weight of the thing so that it was now on top of him.

"Oh no you don't," Angel said, pulling herself towards them. The movement made her dizzy, but she didn't' care at the moment. The thing eyed her warily as she began to make the circles with her hands again. The cat-thing lifted its head off the man, growling at her to stop whatever she was doing. The light wasn't coming. Her circles began to get lopsided and ridiculous because she was making them to fast. She took a deep breath, and did them over right this time. The light came and she'd never been gladder to see it. The cat-thing snarled, but she placed her hands on either side of the man's head. It roared and got off the man to latch on to her, but she'd already gone to see what was wrong with him and couldn't feel the pain of the teeth digging into her shoulder. She had to remind herself to go slow or she'd mess up. First one arm, then the other, then his shoulder, and finally she woke him up.

Then she left him and gasped at the unexpected pain in her shoulder and back, for the beast had climbed on top of her and so on top of her already smarting back. But it was then that the now healed man stood up, scooped the cat thing off her, and slammed it against the wall. It growled sounding almost like a house cat when you step on its tail. The man was relentless, wrapping both his hand around its neck, strangling it, and slamming it against the wall again and again. At first it roared in protest but grew quieter and struggled less until it was completely still.

Finally he dropped it, clearly disgusted. He stared at her in a mixture of horror and worry. She closed her eyes, not wanting to see the look directed at her. She knew her back must look terrible. She felt him kneel beside her.

"Don't close your eyes, Healer." He warned, his voice sounded nice even with that note of panic in it.

"But I'm tired." She told him, not opening her eyes. She was, everything hurt, and she was exhausted from so much healing.

"Please," He begged. His voice was warm and velvety, like hot cocoa. She just wanted to hear it forever. The last thing she was aware of were his arms scooping her up. "What a welcome home."

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don't kill me!! and though i reffer to the man in this chapter he isn't The Man, and if any of you cannot guess who this is i am quiet ashamed of you. i don't know if this chapter turned out scary or not, but if it did YAY! and if it didn't i hope you were able to picture what was going on which is all i'm really aiming for. PLEASE REVEIW!!


	7. The Listener

THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR YOUR REVEIWS! i know i say that every time, but seriously, thanks! i forgot to add that with the power vested in my by the AU gods i have erased all traces of the HIV virus in our little bohos! and i have also erased all heroin addictions (past and present) in the bohos. i know this is cheating, but i couldn't help myself and i figure that if you guys can accept evil creatures from the depths of my mind, you can probably accept this.

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Though it surprised Mimi that Angel was late, she wasn't really that angry. Even if they had been planning it for a month, Angel usually had a good reason for not showing up. It was a spa night, they'd saved up for so long to afford everything: ingredients for facials, a few new colors of nail polish, even fresh cucumbers which had probably been the most expensive. Mimi sat in her fluffy pink bathrobe on the couch, staring at the clock. From eight o'clock to nine o'clock was still acceptable. But when nine wore on to nine thirty, Mimi began to get a little upset. Had Angel forgotten? Had she remembered but blown her off anyway? Angel wouldn't do that, would she? Mimi didn't think so. As nine thirty became ten Mimi started to worry. What if something had happened? What if she'd been mugged? Or kidnapped? Or worse?

Mimi got up and walked into the kitchen. There, she put some water in a kettle to boil, and picked up the phone. She dialed Angel's number but no one picked up. While she waited for the water to boil she climbed out onto the fire escape. She shivered and pulled the cord around her robe tighter. She leaned out over the edge, clutching the icy metal so she wouldn't fall. There was a Sycamore sapling planted in front of her building, the top of its leaf-less branches were still about a story below her.

"Any sign of Angel?" She asked it. It rustled a few twigs, a shrug, as if to say that she hadn't seen her. Mimi pushed her self away from the edge, back onto the landing, letting go of the iron bar. She rubbed her hands together to try to warm them up and went back inside. The water was boiling. She poured some of it into a mug and put a tea bag in it to soak, then took it back to the couch and sat back down. She sat in silence, listening as hard as she could. There was her clock ticking away, and the wind had picked up outside. Soft conversation and the occasional creak of a floorboard from the two guys upstairs. She concentrated on what they were saying, but gave up when it appeared that the only thing they were talking about was why their old friend hadn't shown up yet. It seemed Angel wasn't the only one who was late.

Finally as it was nearing ten twenty she heard the door open three flights down. She leapt up, prepared to give Angel a good talking to, giving her a scare like that! It wasn't very nice. She went out onto the landing and paused. The footsteps weren't the click of Angel's heels or the shuffle of the sneakers she sometimes wore. They sounded bigger, and the shoes were different. They seemed to be going just a little slower than they normally would, like they were carrying something. Mimi sighed; it was probably the friend the guys upstairs had been talking about. She went back into her apartment to finish her tea. Sometimes she wished her hearing wasn't as good as it was. It was distracting, and now that she'd concentrated so hard on the man's (she assumed it was a man to have such large feet) foot steps that she could stop listening to them. When he was about a flight down from her apartment she realized that there were actually two people in the stairwell. Was he carrying someone? She hadn't heard anybody else come up the stairs. She got up, curious, and looked through the peephole in the door as he passed. Her breath caught in her throat. It was a man sure enough; she didn't find anything particularly extraordinary about him though she knew he was exactly the kind of guy Angel would go for, which brought her to what – or rather whom the guy was carrying; Angel, unconscious and covered in blood.

She didn't even wait to know anything else. She flung open her door and shifted, right there in the hall, into the cat. Mimi loved her cat form, all sleek and black and shiny, not to mention the claws. She leaped onto the guys back and unsheathed her claws, raking them across his shoulder blades and digging them into his lower back so she wouldn't fall off.

"FUCK!" He wiggled his shoulders, trying to dislodge her to no avail, keeping his grip on Angel.

"Mark! Roger! I need help here!" Mimi scrambled onto his shoulder and bit down hard on one of his ears. He shook his head but she clung on knowing that this would just cause more pain. She could hear the door upstairs being slammed and two sets on footsteps banging down the stairs. Letting go of the man's ear for a moment Mimi glanced up at them. There were two white guys, one scrawny, one with bleached hair, staring down at the. She would have continued her analysis but she felt the man shift to throw her off and dug in her claws again. The man swore violently and the two guys moved forward to help him. The scrawny guy moved to pick her up, but she hissed and slashed at his hand. He pulled back, but the distraction was enough that the man was able to shake her off. She gave a frustrated yowl and made to pounce on him again, but caught the eye off the bleach-hair-guy first. She froze, trying as hard as she could to move, but was unable to. He reached out a tentative hand towards her.

"Nice kitty," He said softly, trying to calm her down. But how could she calm down when that man had done who knows what to Angel over there? She pleaded with her eyes for him to release her. He stared at her, slightly confused, but slowly broke the eye contact. It was such a shock that Mimi sat down and lost her cat form, shifting back into a human. Now he really stared. Mimi blushed, bringing her knees up to her chest; feet firmly planted in front of her, and crossed her arms over her knees. She'd forgotten this part. When she shifted she became much smaller. So much smaller that she simply slipped out of her clothes. He looked away, she could see him blushing too, and tossed her, her robe from where it lay a few feet away. She pulled it on gratefully, and turned back to face him.

"Seer?" She asked quietly. He nodded, and pointed to the scrawny guy and the man holding Angel.

"Witness, and Teacher." Mimi felt ridiculous, but pointed to Angel.

"Healer." He nodded, thinking. "Mark, will you come ask her who she is? I think I know, but you know I'm not allowed to ask." This caught the scrawny guy's – Mark's – and the man, The Teacher's attention. They both seemed quiet surprised to find that Mimi was in fact human. Mark seemed to think about it for a second, and then slapped himself on the forehead.

"Listener, right?" Mimi nodded. They stood there for a moment, no one quiet sure what to say. Them Mimi remembered the whole reason she was out here in the first place.

"What happened?" Mimi asked The Teacher.

"Yeah, Collins, I was kind of wondering that myself. First you're like two hours late, then when you do show up you're carrying some half dead guy and being attacked by a psycho cat!" Mark asked. Mimi glared; Angel had better not be half dead! Collins shook his head.

"He was…we were…attacked." He said slowly. Mimi bit her lip, she should have known.

"It wasn't…was it?" Roger – he had to be Roger if the other guy was Mark – asked. He couldn't seem to bring himself to say Voglia Ed Uccida…maybe he'd had seen one too. Those things were creepy. Collins nodded.

"Then what are we doing standing out here in the hall?!" Mimi cried. "Come on, get inside." And she ushered them into her apartment.

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heh heh, beginnings of Mimi/Roger...now i don't know about you guys, but i kept having to look back at the prophecy to keep all their powers straight. PLEASE REVEIW!


	8. Phonecalls

These next couple chapters are filler and i'm not loving them. I"M SO SORRY I DIDN"T UPDATE FOR...5 dAYS (gasp)! the story was giving me trouble

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They entered Mimi's apartment quickly, none of them wanting to risk the slim chance that something would find them. Mark closed the door after them, checking the hall before he did. He turned. Mimi's apartment was a mess, though not as bad as the loft was right now. The coffee table was covered with old magazines and nail polish. Laundry was strewn on the floor and on the backs of the chair and couch.

"You can put her on the couch." Mimi told Collins and disappeared into the bathroom. Collins did, but instead of standing he sat down too, Angel's head in his lap. Mark shook his head, but then again Collins had never been good at being subtle. Roger plopped down in the armchair, which left Mark standing there awkwardly.

"Are you sure they are the real thing?" Mark asked.

"Of course," Collins said, not looking up at him apparently too busy staring at Angel's face. Mark eyed him doubtfully, Collins looked up. "Really. I was dying! And then she just…" Collins couldn't seem to find the right description of how Angel had healed him.

"Even if she is The Healer, what about her?" Mark said, gesturing to the bathroom Mimi was plundering.

"No, she's real." Roger said. "I saw her shift."

It was then that Mimi reappeared with her arms full. She laid her arsenal of medical supplies out on the coffee table.

"So how many others have you guys found?" Mimi asked as she began to patch Angel up as best she could. Mark rolled his eyes. Roger really wasn't being much more inconspicuous than Collins, staring at her ass like that.

"Actually you two are the last ones." Mimi sat back on her heels staring into space.

"Really?" Mark nodded.

"Really?" Oh, he'd forgotten Collins didn't know about Joanne.

"Wow," Mimi said, getting back to her work. It was hard for any of them to believe. At least Mark had found everybody over a seven-month period, but these guys had to adjust in one night.

"You should call Maureen," Roger told Mark. Mark winced. Though they'd technically never been together, Mark had always had a 'thing' for Maureen. And now that Maureen was off living with Joanne…it was just really awkward.

"Why don't you call her?" Mark almost retorted. Roger shrugged.

"'Cuz she more or less hates me." True true. Mark sighed.

"Can I use your phone?" He asked Mimi. She nodded absently.

"It's in the kitchen."

The kitchen wasn't much better than the living room. Dirty dishes were piled in the sink and there were random food items lying on the counter top including a cucumber. Why did she have a cucumber? They were hard to come by considering it was December. Mark picked up the phone and dialed Joanne's number. He'd memorized it almost as soon as Maureen had moved out. It rang three times before someone picked up.

"Hello?" Maureen giggled on the other end. Mark swallowed. His throat had gone dry.

"Uh…"

"Who is this?"

"It's Mark."

'Hi Marky! What's up?"

"We, uh…we found the last two." He could hear Maureen's intake of breath.

"Okay, we're coming over, call Benny okay?" She said very quickly.

"Okay, oh, and we are in the apartment down stairs."

"Alright, bye." She hung up. Mark put down the receiver. He put his hand over his face and sighed deeply, before poking his head back into the living room.

"Do any of you know Benny's number?" Of course nobody did, since they'd all spent so much energy trying to avoid him. It wasn't so much that marriage had changed him, though it had, it was more power. Ever since he'd become their landlord…well he was their landlord…and not their friend.

"The Yellow Pages is under the table." Mimi told him. It took him about thirty seconds to find it, but ten minuets later he was still flipping through it. He'd looked under 'Coffin' but he wasn't listed there. He wasn't listed under 'Westport' either. So now he was scanning 'Gray'. Why were there so many people named Gray? He dialed six different numbers before he found the one he was looking for. It rung for so long that Mark was beginning to think that nobody was home. But, being Benny, he picked up at the last possible second.

"Hello, Westport Gary's residence, Benjamin Coffin speaking."

"Benny, it's me.

"Hey, Mark, I haven't heard from you in forever."

"Listen Benny, we found the last two."

"The last two? I thought we were missing three?"

"Oh, right," Mark had forgotten he didn't know about Joanne either. "Maureen's girlfriend is one and then we've got these two new people. Can you come over?"

"Tonight?"

"Yeah,"

"I can't do it tonight, Mark." Mark was to stunned to say anything. "In fact, I can't come for…three days."

"Three days?" They could all be dead by then!

"Yeah, sorry man, bye." And Benny hung up on him.

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HEH HEH HEH! benny isn't evil...just inconvenient


	9. Waiting

I hate this chapter. Maybe you'll like it. It's more funny filler crap. Enjoy

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Collins looked up as Mark re-entered the room. He looked dazed, and angry, and confused, and hurt all at once.

"What's wrong?" He asked. Mark pursed his lips for a moment then sighed.

"Maureen and Joanne are coming, but Benny can't make it for three days."

"THREE DAYS?!" Roger cried. "We could all be eaten by then!"

"I know, but what can we do?" Mark asked. Mimi sighed.

"Now we wait."

It only took Roger five minuets to declare the situation dull. As if on cue, Angel stirred, her head still in Collins lap. Her eyes fluttered open, and she blinked like a newborn in the sudden brightness. She smiled when she saw Collins, tried to sit up, and grimaced. Mimi, who'd been staring absently into space (specifically the space in Roger's general area), turned around.

"ANGEL! You're awake! Are you okay? How do you feel? It was one of those things, wasn't' it?" Mimi asked in a rush.

"Yes, I'm awake," She rolled her eyes, "I'm okay I guess, I feel like shit, like I got run over by a truck, and yes, it was one of those things. Who are all these people? Why are they in your apartment?"

"We found everybody else!" Mimi grinned. "And…um…well…that guy is…what's your name again?"

"Mark, and that's Roger and Tom -"

"You albino fucking pumpkin head, how many times do I have to tell you? I hate that name!" Roger laughed.

"I was getting there! Tom -" He gave him a look. "Who prefers to be called Collins."

"Wow, hi everyone. Someone help me sit up, I feel like an idiot talking up half the couch when you two are standing." Angel said. Collins wrapped one arm around her waist and one around her legs and propped her upright. She winced and blushed from such close contact. "Thanks,"

"No problem," He muttered. Mark rolled his eyes. Mimi sat down next to Angel, and Mark sat down next to her. After settling themselves comfortably they sat in silence.

"So…" Mimi said, trying to break the tension. "What should we do to entertain ourselves?"

"We could play board games," Roger suggested with more enthusiasm than one would think he'd have.

"We could barricade ourselves in," Said Collins, looking hopeful.

"Yeah, but then Maureen and Joanne couldn't get in."

"Damn boy, always clouding the issue with logic."

"We can do that after they get here."

"Board games," Roger said again in a singsong voice. Mimi shrugged.

"Come on, it'll pass the time." Mark sighed; they had more important things to do than play board games all day.

"Do you have Sorry?" Collins asked, looking a little consoled that they couldn't build a barricade.

"Yeah," Angel said, having been here enough to know what kind of board games Mimi owned.

"Alright!" Roger cried, punching the air. "I'm so being red!"

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God, I love making hyper Roger. This chapter gave me hell. Please reveiw!!


	10. Coming

I'M SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING!! the way i've been doing updates (i don't remember if i've explained before) is that i write two chapters...say X (yes X, i've stolen your name for this purpose) and...T (twicked, i hope you don't mind either) - anyway, chapters X and T, i post X then write chapter...C (just guess you URF people) - and once i finish C i post T. does that make any sense? no, it probably doesn't sigh but anywho, i'm slightly ashamed of this chapter, but that is ok. i hope you don't mind it

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Though the street must have been noisy the only sound Maureen registered were those of her and Joanne's dry footsteps, a soft click against the cement. Joanne kept glancing over her shoulder as they walked. Every time Maureen would squeeze her hand a little tighter, a silent signal that everything was all right. In all honesty, Maureen couldn't actually promise her girlfriend that, as much as she wanted to. Joanne turned her head yet again, and Maureen once again gave her hand a little squeeze. Ignoring the sideways glances they were getting, Maureen pulled them along a little faster. Joanne pulled back, reminding her without words to keep the pace human. She slowed down, if only a little. She wouldn't panic. They were only walking to their friend's apartment, a perfectly natural thing to do, right? Maureen felt someone pinch her arm. She yelped, and released a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding - so much for not panicking.

"We're almost there, right?" Joanne asked, her voice an octave or two too high.

"Yeah, only like three more blocks." Maureen answered. Joanne had only been to the loft once when she was helping her move out, and while Joanne's sense of direction was good, it wasn't _that _good. They relapsed into uncomfortable silence. Joanne glanced over her shoulder, Maureen groaned. "Jo, there is nothing there."

"Of course not," Joanne said, her voice not quiet back to normal. "I just keep thinking…there!'" Joanne grabbed Maureen's arm, spinning her around. Maureen stared…at the empty sidewalk.

"Oh, Joanne, you scared me. Don't do that." She scolded, and began walking again. She stopped a couple yards ahead when she realized Joanne wasn't behind her. She turned again, slightly exasperated, slightly scarred. Joanne stood stalk still, staring intently around her like a hawk scanning a field for that one mouse. "JO! Come on!"

"No, I saw something," At the slightly forced sigh Maureen gave, she grunted. "I did!"

Maureen sighed again, but stayed with her. They must have looked odd, standing still in the middle of the sidewalk, just staring. She would admit it to herself, though never Joanne, but she was still nervous. Joanne wasn't a liar and god knows she wasn't imaginative enough to call up those monsters out of her mind. But after twenty minutes she began to get tired.

"Jo, come on," she said unenthusiastically. "We're obviously wasting our time, we should go."

"Oh...ok," Joanne said, defeated. They began to move, but of course Maureen saw something move in the corner of her vision. Her breath caught, she'd never actually seen one of them before now.

"Uh, Jo…I see it now." Joanne turned and grabbed her hand, squeezing it hard. Roger was right - it was terrifying. A great black-ish wolf padded forward on huge, clawed, silent paws. Its enormous puruple-ish tongue lolled out of its mouth lazily, easily avoiding the gleaming black teeth. Though she couldn't quiet make out its eyes, Maureen felt it was starring at her. Maureen tugged on Joanne's hand, planning to whisk them away faster than that thing could comprehend, but Joanne didn't seem to want to move.

"Come on," Maureen hissed. The wolf's ears pricked towards the sound and it took a step closer.

"_No,"_ Joanne said. She was using her special voice, the one Maureen always hated when it was used on her. Though at the moment, she felt the slight bliss of obeying it. Joanne then directed her voice at the creature. Slowly, hesitantly, she spoke.

"_Stop." _It stumbled for a moment, then froze and Maureen got that same feeling that it was watching Joanne.

"_You will not harm us or anyone else unless I tell you to." _Still slow, but now with more power behind it, Joanne's words seemed to slid into each other - sweet and sticky like honey.

"_You will do whatever I tell you to. You will be kind, helpful, and loyal to The Chosen. You are not going to be called a Voglia Ed Uccida any longer. Now you will be called…" _Here Joanne paused, turning to Maureen. Maureen wavered, considering, for only a moment.

"Buster." She said decisively. Joanne rolled her eyes, but said nothing for fear of breaking her control.

"_Buster." _She repeated, and broke eye contact. As soon as she did it gave a large shudder and began to shift. For a moment, Maureen panicked, thinking it hadn't worked. But 'Buster' merely seemed to shrink. His muzzle got smaller and rounder, eyes appeared, shining and intelligent, and his fur, legs, body, and tail all became much shorter. Now, standing before them panting, was a not quite black lab. He barked once, and Maureen flinched.

"Great, now what are we gong to do with it?" Maureen muttered to herself. Joanne hesitated.

"Let's take it to the loft,"

"ARE YOU CRAZY?!" she shrieked. Luckily only about five or six people seemed to notice.

"Think about it," Joanne said. "It should be 'good' now."

"Oh, fine, let's just go." She was getting impatient. She took three steps forward and glanced over her shoulder. Sure enough Buster was following behind, tail wagging. If it weren't for the swirling colors on his back and all the shape-shifting mojo than he would have looked like a normal dog. She and Joanne began walking again, not quiet as paranoid as before. They made it another two blocks before Joanne broke the silence.

"Buster? Honestly Maureen…"

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i had fun with the ending! that was fun to write - a note for the next chapter, Maureen changes her mind about Buster.


	11. Quick Explanations

YAY! I think I'm going to get off my lazy ass and keep writing! Won't that be exciting? Anyway, thank you all for your amazing reviews - i love you all!! slaps face i really need to stop eating the gummy sharks, i think they are going to my head. so without further ado...just read it...or don't - your choice...

I lied, i need a disclaimer: urm...if i owned rent it would not be going off Broadway! though i might pretend to make it go off Broadway just to toy with people's minds a bit...

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It was only after Roger had beaten them at Sorry, Life, Checkers, Backgammon, Hangman, Trouble, and was now proceeding to kick Mark and Collins' asses at Monopoly that Mimi screamed. She'd gotten bored way back after checkers, and had gone about doing things she'd been putting off doing around the house. Like laundry, who knew it piled up so fast when you left it lying around the living room? Angel too had grown bored…or perhaps just tired, and had decided to lean up against Collins to watch – he really did make a great pillow. She was currently falling asleep on his shoulder. But of course, she was wide-awake now, Mimi's scream having reverberated through everyone's ears. Mimi had her back against the door and was breathing hard.

"What?" Mark asked, recounting the colorful bills in his hand. "Roger, do I really have to pay you that much?"

"Shut up! Just shut up! There is one of those…THINGS outside my door!"

"No way," Roger rose, coming to stand next to her. He peered through the peephole in the door. "Crap, there is…why is it with Maureen and Joanne?"

"Well, we should let them in." Mark reasoned.

"And let that monster in my house too? Forget it!"

"Come on, Mimi, I'm sure we could take it. It's one of it to seven of us. Besides, it might try to eat them or something if we don't." Collins called from the couch. Mimi twisted a strand of her curly hair around her finger.

"But – but, Angel what do you think?"

"I don't want anyone getting eaten, in or outside. If they're in here at least we're all together."

"Fine," She nudged Roger out of her way and began undoing the three locks she had on her door. Unhook the top one, twist the second one, unlatch the third, and pull open the door.

There was a small moment before chaos erupted when Roger could see everything, his head sticking out the door. Joanne, her curly hair in slight disarray, was squinting at a small piece of paper in her hand. Maureen was alternating between peering over Joanne's shoulder and wandering around the landing. And then there was that thing…it panted and whined; it's purple tongue lolling out of its mouth. It looked like a dog, but moved with an unnatural lopping grace. Roger bit his tongue, trying to muffle the small guttural sound he'd just made. It was then that it snapped its head in his direction, faster than a dog's could have. Roger's stomach dropped as he felt its eyes on him. It sniffed the air once, making Maureen and Joanne look up, then bounded towards him. Roger hurried to slam to door on it, but it was there, knocking it open and knocking him into Mimi. The door slammed into both of them and the thing ran into the apartment. Mimi and Mark screamed, Collins stood up in front of Angel who sat dazed on the floor still half asleep, Roger's head spun and he felt something wet on his face. He heard Maureen and Joanne both yelling.

A large dark something was sitting on his chest, its short nails digging into his shoulders. Still behind him, Mimi was screaming. His first thought was that the thing had attacked him, that the wetness on his face was blood. But once he got over his shock he realized that the thing was licking him.

"Bad Buster!" Maureen was saying. Joanne sighed and sank into the now empty armchair, rubbing her temples. The breath that had been knocked out of him by the door, returned very suddenly to Roger's chest.

"Get off me! Get off!" He pushed the thing off him, standing up. Mimi had retreated over to the couch. The thing barked, and they flinched. It stood on its hind legs, placing its paws on Roger's chest again, whining. "Get off!"

"Buster!" Joanne called, the reprimand clear in her voice. " Leave Roger alone." 'Buster' let his paws drop to the floor and walked, tail tucked between his legs, back to Joanne – sulking. He – Roger assumed it was a he, sat down at Joanne's feet, placing his head on his paws and eyed Roger with longing. It seemed unaware that all the eyes in the room were locked on it.

"Uh, sorry it took us so long to get here," Maureen said. "We kind of picked up a hitchhiker." She gestured towards Buster.

"A- a hitchhiker? It's a monster, not a hitchhiker!" Mimi spluttered. Buster's ears seemed to droop a little, as if he could understand her.

"He's not a monster! He's a sweetie! Aren't you Buster?" Maureen knelt down beside him and patted his head.

"Humph!" Angel rose from her spot on the floor to sit down next to Maureen. She reached out a cautious hand toward Buster, Collins looked like he wanted to say something but didn't. How could Angel be so willing to trust this thing, when she'd been attacked by a similar one – perhaps even the same one – earlier tonight? Angel's hand went to scratching under Buster's chin and his tail bounced happily on the floor.

"Why isn't he trying to kill us?" Angel asked.

"Pookie spoke to him!" Maureen said proudly. "He was like 'RAWR' and she was like 'NOOOOOO' and he was like 'bark' and I was like 'whoa!'" Angel laughed as she reenacted the scene.

Mimi crossed her arms over her chest, still not amused by her antics. Roger and Collins also seemed wary of 'Buster, but Maureen, Joanne, and Angel looked like they trusted him. Mimi could see the room was divided, and if they were going to do this like a democracy, then Mark was the tiebreaker. She turned to him. He hadn't moved from the position he'd been in when Buster first flung open the door – standing near the armchair. His eyes were locked on Buster, his face impassive, but mesmerized. His knuckles were turning white from clutching his scarf so tightly.

"Mark?" She asked tentatively.

"Can you see it?" He ignored her question, his voice far away as if he were calling to her from across a field or maybe like pointing out something in a movie and not wanting to disturb others. His eyes never left Buster's coat.

"See what? Mark?" She swallowed her throat dry. The others were now staring at him too.

"In – In his fur – I can see…faces."

"What are you talking about, man? Stop it, you're scaring us." Roger said. Mark ignored him and knelt down next to Buster, in between Angel and Maureen. Gently he extended a few fingers to his fur and gently brushed it, like he was brushing away dust on a television screen.

"I can see Benny…He's having dinner with his wife. They're at a restaurant- a fancy one." Collins made a disgusted noise in the back of his throat.

"That'd be just like him," Maureen muttered.

"Yuppie scum, leaving us to be eaten or something to go have some fancy dinner."

"I think we have bigger problems than Benny," Mark said, his eyes growing wide. "They know. They're coming."

* * *

ooooh - ominous-ness! i think I'm going to go to sleep now...


	12. Barricade

FILLER!! i hate fillers...oh well... the next chapter is short but important, so please bare with me

THANK YOU TO THE REVEIWERS!! if i had the stamina i would try to wait for more reveiws, but since i don't know when i'll be on the computer again...

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"What do you mean 'they're coming'?" Maureen asked; her face clouded over with worry.

"The Voglia Ed Uccida – they know we're all together and they're coming." Mark explained. Murmurs of concern and disbelief swept through their small group. Mimi shook her head, not wanting to believe it.

She left the group, padding softly through the kitchen. She slipped out the window onto the fire escape. Her bare toes curled against the cold metal, but she forced her fingers around the railing. Mimi leaned out again, calling down to the sycamore sapling.

"What is going on?" She asked it calmly. It shook its leafless branches. It didn't know, but something bad was coming. She thanked it and pushed herself back onto the platform, rubbing her hands together to warm them up. Her feet screamed that they'd had enough of the cold metal bars digging into them and for once, she complied, climbing back through her window in time to hear Maureen.

"What do you mean?"

"I told you Mo, that's all I can see!" Mark cried, evidently this was not the first time she'd asked him this. Collins placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Let the boy alone, he can't tell us anything else."

"I- I'm sorry Mark."

" 'S fine," He said.

"It's just," Maureen put her hands to her head. "I'm scared."

For once, nobody told her not to be. Nobody told her 'it's going to be okay' or 'it will all work out'. Her words hung, almost tangible in the air. Finally, Joanne pulled her onto her lap and stroked her hair. Maureen buried her face in Joanne's shoulder while they all watched. Collins was suddenly very aware of the fact that Angel was still using him as a pillow and Mimi was very aware that Roger was looking in her direction.

"What?" She asked him, a little defensively.

"Nothing, I just…Where were you?"

"Outside," she said.

"How'd you get outside?" Mark asked curiously.

"The fire escape," She told him. "Why?" Mark shook his head.

"That's not good," In answer to her questioning look he explained further. "What if something were to climb up and try to get in?" She shuddered.

"OH!" Roger exclaimed, grinning. "We should build a barricade!" When he wasn't greeted with immediate enthusiasm he faltered.

"Uh…sorry…I don't see anyone else thinking of ideas…" He muttered. Joanne was staring at him. "What?"

"I'm trying to decide whether you are and idiot or a genius."

"He's an idiot," Maureen and Collins said at the same time – then laughed.

"Maybe not," Joanne said. "A barricade might hold them off for a while, though probably not forever, and it would give us something to do besides twiddle our thumbs and worry."

"But, what would we use?"

"All my crap, of course!" Mimi said "Some one come help me move the fridge."

Within fifteen minuets Mimi and Angel had managed to get the fridge in front of the window in the kitchen, Collins and Roger were working on pushing the couch, coffee table and armchair in front of the door, and Maureen, Joanne, and were digging through all the crap in Mimi's room and the guest room looking for stuff to block up more windows. Mimi and Angel came to help them with the guest room, which was really quite impressive.

You could barely make out the bed under all the crap. Besides being covered with numerous pillows and blankets, it was half covered by a bookshelf that had fallen over onto it. The books were spilled everywhere, strewn across the floor and bed. Clothes were hung on the bookshelf and draped over the headboard of the bed as well as scattered on top of the junk. You couldn't even see the floor because of all the crap – more pillows, books, clothes covered it. They could also see stationary, sketchbooks, a bulletin board with a map and a candy wrapper pined to it, a dictionary from the sixties, gloves, grocery bags, and countless other items building up the layer of crud.

"I feel like an archeologist," Angel said, staring at this.

"Hey, be nice," Mimi said, swatting her arm. "It's not like you haven't seen it before."

"You think this is bad? You should have seen my room from back home." Maureen called from somewhere on the other side of the room.

"Where are you?" Her head appeared on the other side of the bookshelf. She held up a pair of shoes – faded blue high tops.

"Can I keep these?"

"Uh, sure,"

"Ouch!"

"Who said that?"

"I did," Mark emerged from a different pile, rubbing his head. "Dictionary fell on my head."

"Ooh," Angel said in sympathy. Joanne stood up form her spot behind the bed. She was holding something.

"What is this?" She said, stumbling over the crap to get to them. Mark took it, his eyebrows narrowing. It was a scroll, faded and yellow. He unrolled it, his eyes widening.

"I thought I had the only copy…" He murmured. "And even that was cut off and damaged."

"What is it?"

"It's a complete copy of the prophecy."

They took it into the living room, telling Roger and Collins of their discovery. They sat in a circle on the floor – the couch and chairs were still propped up against the door - with Buster in the middle. It was a mutual decision that Joanne should read it since she found it. She coughed once and unrolled it.

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i have nothing else to say


	13. A Story

i'm so sorry for not updating - this is the shortest chapter i've ever written and i apologize! My little, genius brother came up with the origins of the voglia ed uccida, i just did a little editing. he is a genius and i love him!

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Ignoring the beginning and middle of the scroll, Joanne began to read.

_The Witness' part is simple. They must see The Event. They must also find The Traitor – who will be an asset to The Event__. __Their defense is silence. When they are completely silent no one can touch them._

_Their defenses are against the __Voglia Ed Uccida, who will do all in their power to prevent The Event from taking place. _

_Long ago there lived a man – a shaman of great and terrible power. Hungry for more power, he studied the dark arts and through them learned of a being that was a nightmare. With his newfound powers he opened a portal to the outskirts of Hell where all that exists is mist and beings that force themselves into human's subconious. Through it slipped one demon creature, the first and most fearsome. The Shaman called it and all of its kind Voglia Ed Uccida. He then sealed the portal. Intending to harness its power, he tried to kill this first Voglia Ed Uccida. But the Voglia Ed Uccida was stronger than he and with its strength, killed him. _

_It wandered for many years, reeking havoc and destruction as it roamed. With the slight wisdom time granted it, it learned to manipulate nightmares until it reached out and touched one, bringing another Voglia Ed Uccida into this world. As the years passed it created many Voglia Ed Uccida to assist with its chaos. _

_Finally it learned of its creation and of the portal and also of The Traitor. It remembered its home and began to search for the portal. _

_The Traitor is one who will betray the Voglia Ed Uccida to The Chosen. It is this that the Volia Ed Uccida must kill. _

_If the portal should open our world would be as a Nightmare. _

Joanne closed the scroll her fingers shaking. The others were silent, staring at her. Finally Collins spoke.

"All this time…I though they were created to stop us…but I guess we were created to stop them…"

"But what does it mean?" Roger asked.

"I don't know…but I certainly don't want to find out if it means failing."

"Wait," Maureen said. "Buster's the Traitor?"

"I guess so,"

"Oh…well I'm glad he is." Maureen smiled a little, running her hand through Buster's fur. It was soft and silky, almost like running your hands through water and it was just as cold. Buster panted and barked as if to say that he was glad too.

the next chapter is the longest one i've written so i hope that makes up for it! i know this chapter was muy patético but please reveiw for my brother!


	14. Daze

GAH!!!!! Can I apologize about 10,000,000 times for taking so long? I'MSORRY!I'MSORRY!I'MSORRY!I'MSORRY!I'MSORRY!I'MSORRY! There, that's not quiet that many times, but would you like to hear my excuse? Here it is, I wanted to finish chapter 15 before I posted this, and how was I supposed to know I was going to need six pages to do that? Anyway, this is lengthy (ok, not _that _lengthy) so I hope that makes you happy!

* * *

Buster wagged his tail; it thumped against the ground. He barked once, making Mark swivel his head back around to face him. The widening of his eyes were enough.

"Shit! Shitshitshitshit! We need to finish that barricade _now._" They didn't need to ask him why. Mimi half hoped the neighbors wouldn't complain as they pounded the few feet to the last room that hadn't been barricaded. She could've sworn she could see the floor shake. For once she was glad she owned so much crap. They began to clumsily shove it up against the glass windows; in their hurry most of it fell back to the floor. Angel started piling the things up against the wall underneath the window so the crap wouldn't be able to fall back down. She bit her lip and glanced out the window, then dived to gather up an armful of books. But something made her look back and though it made her chest hurt and her stomach churn it wasn't a Voglia Ed Uccida. It was the girl – the homeless one with the aviator hat, she couldn't have been more than eighteen at the oldest. She could see her lying in the alley between the two buildings, her aviator hat a few feet away. Even from this height she couldn't mistake the girl's glassy eyes or, more prominently, the bite taken out her neck and the pool of dark liquid that she lay in. Angel thought she might throw up – it had been one of them, she'd stake her life on it. She gasped, straining to get a better view of it, then hissed as her back screamed at her not to cause it any more pain.

"Stop," It was too quiet for anyone to have heard her. "Stop it! We can't do this!"

"What?" That was Roger, turning to look at her, confused.

"We can't barricade ourselves in here."

"Why not?" Now everyone was staring at her, god only knows what they must be thinking.

"Look!" She pointed out the window for them to see. They crowded around as best they could, peering down to see what had caused them to come to such and abrupt halt, wasting more precious time. Their gasps, and cries of shock were reason enough.

"See?" Angel said. "See what is happening while we borrow up here? People are dying, she can't be the only one, and we could be stopping it."

"How?" It came after a long pause; nobody was sure who said it.

"We fight." Heads turned to Collins. He stood calm, but sure, his eyes on Angel. She smiled at him.

"Fight," It was echoed, sometimes as a question, sometimes as a statement, sometimes almost as a battle cry.

"How? There's like a million of them and it's just us." Mark whispered. "They have powers we can't fight – not everyone is strong like you, Collins."

"Mark, listen to me, you don't have be strong. We don't have to stop them, we just have to do The Event and we win. That's it."

"How?" The same question repeated with more malice. "We don't even know what The Event is."

"Yes, we do." Collins gently took the scroll from Joanne. "This says they want to open a portal – we have to close the portal – that's what The Event is."

"Or what?"

"Or there won't be much of a world left."

"I don't want there not to be a world!" Maureen cried. "I love the world!"

"Then you'll do it?"

"Yes." Maureen said, serious for once.

"I'm with you guys," Roger said. "But if someone dies, I will kick your ass."

"You'll try," Collins muttered to himself, before turning to the last few. Mimi, Mark, and Joanne all shook their heads solemnly in agreement.

"Uh Oh…"

"'Uh Oh' what?"

"'Uh Oh' that." Mimi pointed out the one unblocked window. There, standing on the roof of the building across from them was a man. Not a man exactly, it stood like a man, but no man was this mixed up. As they stared his head turned to that of a falcon, then to a lion's. One minute he was sprouting tentacles, then claws, and then he had no arms to all. They shivered as his eyes (not that they could actually see any) seemed to scan over them.

And then the world seemed to explode. The room was nothing but chaos. The pillows had burst, spraying feathers everywhere, which combined with the dust of years of untouched possessions made a thick haze that was almost impossible to see through. They could barley hear anything over the shattering glass, cracking wood, and their own screams. Most of the items on the floor were tossed up into the air. They coughed and choked on the dust, trying to clear their throats and wipe their streaming eyes.

"Angel, Maureen, Mark – stay together, stay with Buster!" Collins shouted through the dust. His plan was that if everyone except those three fought, Mark could keep an eye on everyone through Buster and Maureen could take Angel to the people who needed her.

"Get out of here!" He grabbed the person closest to him by the arm – he couldn't tell whom – and ran, well tried to. The debris was still falling and, though the bed had been blasted apart, the pieces still presented an obstacle course through which they had to maneuver. Collins gritted his teeth and kicked the pieces out of his way, praying that they didn't hit anybody, then squinted his eyes against the dust and moved forward again. He realized with a jolt that he was almost completely supporting whomever he'd grabbed. He stumble for a few steps and nearly yelled in surprise when he felt something reach out and grab a handful of his shirt. He wriggled his shoulders trying to dislodge the person without dropping his charge. The person gasped and panted.

"Hey, it's me." Angel's voice was hoarse from the dust, but strained as well. Collins felt instantly ashamed.

"Sorry, I thought…" He trailed off. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine," She assured him, her fingers found their way back around his shirt. "Where's the door?"

"POOKIE?!" They heard Maureen scream from somewhere on the other side of the room. "Mark, where's Joanne?"

"Not sure…" Was all they could make out of Mark's response. As disconcerting as Maureen's cry was, they had a direction now, and so made their way towards it. After tripping forward for a few yards the dust cleared and they could breathe again. Angel and Collins sucked in huge gulps of clean air – it seemed only the guest room had been destroyed – the rest of the apartment more or less untouched. Mimi, Roger, Mark, and Maureen all stood in the hall just outside the room. Angel let go of Collins' shirt and sank to her knees, still gasping and biting her lip in pain. One of the books had hit her tender back. Collins too sank to his knees to see whom he was carrying. Maureen gave a strangled cry – Collins knew head wounds bled a lot, but to Maureen it must have looked even worse.

"Pookie!" She wailed. Angel shook her head to clear it and her eyes widened at the sight of Joanne.

"Give her to me," She said calmly. Collins nodded and placed Joanne so that her head was on Angel's lap. Maureen was crying hysterically, she too was on her knees now.

"Calm down Maureen." Angel said, "I can't concentrate – and really it's not the bad."

Maureen took a few gulps of air and managed to quiet herself. Angel licked her dry lips nervously and began waving her hands in a simple circular movement. Collins had never actually seen her heal anybody because he had been unconscious when Angel had healed him. So it took him by surprise when a golden light began to shimmer around her hands. He watched as she gently placed her hands on either side of Joanne's head. Her eyes closed and the glow expanded, running up her arms and surrounding Joanne's head. There was a slight breeze. Angel's face was twisted with concentration. The light seemed to be growing dimmer, but she didn't relax. But then it flared, illuminating everything in the soft gold light, and died. The room smelled faintly of salt and sun. Angel sat back on her heals. Joanne blinked twice, and opened her eyes. She sat up, lifting one hand to the back of her head, stunned when she found nothing. Comprehension dawned in her eyes and she turned to Angel.

"Thanks," She said quietly. Angel smiled and nodded, to breathless to actually say anything.

"POOKIE!" Maureen seemed unable to control herself anymore. She flung her arms around Joanne's neck, and buried her face there. Joanne wrapped her arms around her waist. Collins felt a little embarrassed for intruding on what would clearly be a private moment if they had not been there. Joanne patted Maureen's back.

"It's okay," She assured her. "It's okay."

Roger squinted into the room, he could see about twenty colors (their own trails and a few he didn't recognize) criss-crossing through the room. He frowned, and idea occurring to him. He stared at Buster, who sat curled around Maureen and Joanne, his fears confirmed. He cleared his throat.

"Guys…" Surprisingly it was Mark who had spoken. Mark's head was also swiveling between Buster and the destroyed guest room. There was nothing else to say. They rose simultaneously to their feet. The dust seemed to hang in the air like a curtain, for longer than it should have, and when it did begin to settle it dissolved like mist. There, flanked by four of its kind on either side, stood what could only be the first Voglia Ed Uccida. He was still shifting, and larger than the others, they could almost feel it smirking at them.

Collins bit his tongue, ignoring the coopery taste of blood in his mouth, and shut his eyes. He didn't like using this particular aspect of his abilities because it was uncomfortable and he'd always thought of it as cheating. But now was different, he grimaced inwardly at the unusual sensation of part of his conscious pulling away from the rest of his mind. He was concentrating hard enough that he didn't even have to guide the thoughts to his friends; they simply flew to them. It was a strange power, but useful. He could see Maureen jerk from the corner of his eye.

Then they were moving, Collins pushed his way to the front so that he could get the sofa away from the door without wasting anymore time. The thing was sauntering out of the room, taking its time as if just to prove that it could. Collins got two hands on the sofa and threw it out of the way. It landed on the floor, the crash softened by the cushions. The door had already been flung open and they must have sounded like elephants, pounding down the stairs. The air seemed to be extra thick, frozen in there and impossible to take into his lungs. He was in the back and did a quick headcount. There was a small moment of panic when he couldn't see Mimi because she was so short, but he caught sight of a strand of her curly hair and it passed.

Maureen pushed open the door and they stumbled out onto the street. It looked like the set of a movie. The asphalt looked like a washed gray instead of its usual black in the light coming from both the streetlights and people's windows. The light itself was yellow but held no warmth. The last remnants of the yesterday's light snowfall were piled in the gutter and along buildings. They huddled together in a small clump in the middle of the street, their breath making small white clouds in front of them. Even though it was about eleven thirty the street wasn't exactly empty, a few late night pedestrians were roaming up and down the street. Now they stared and Collins lurched. They hadn't thought of these by-standers, which was so completely idiotic it made Collins want to hit his head against the pavement. Weren't these people part, if not the whole, reason they were taking on the Voglia Ed Uccida early? His eyes began to water from staring too long without blinking.

He could feel them, there in the darkness, intangible shadows. Staring, waiting, hungry, he could sense them near by, more of them than they thought. There was a moment when he was completely calm, like he was in some sort of trance or daze. Time seemed to slow, frozen into a glass orb. In those few seconds he took in the stares of the civilians, the eyes of the creatures, the cold air on his face…Angel's warm hand squeezing his. But then, with a snarl and the splintering of wood as the door to the apartment was broken down, the moment shattered not even leaving the broken shards of glass to prove that it had existed at all.

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WOO! We're almost done with this! Only like two or three more chapters... on a note that is completly unrelated - BARACK OBAMA WON!!!!!!!! WOOHOO!!!!!!!! *does small spazzy celebration dance*

reveiw? please?


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